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[h=4]Republicans candidates target Rubio in New Hampshire debate[/h]Sen. Marco Rubio did not have the center podium at the Republican presidential debate Saturday, but he did appear to be the prime target for the other contenders.
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Republican presidential candidates Marco Rubio battled Chris Christie while Trump got booed after telling Jeb Bush to be quiet. VPC
Republican candidates participate in the debate at St. Anselm College on Feb. 6, 2016, in Manchester, N.H.(Photo: Joe Raedle, Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, N.H.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>—<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sen. Marco Rubio did not have the center podium at the Republican presidential debate Saturday, but he did appear to be the prime target for the other contenders.
Coming off a surprisingly strong third-place finish in Iowa, the Florida senator is now in second in New Hampshire, according to most polls.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Rubio “is a smart person and a good guy” but then proceeded to pepper him with attacks, saying he does not have enough decision-making experience to be president. “You have not been involved in a consequential decision, where you had to be held accountable,” he said.
Rubio fired back that Christie’s experience is in leading New Jersey into failure, with repeated downgrades of its credit rating.
USA TODAY
The gloves come off between Christie and Rubio
USA TODAY
Eighth GOP debate: Highlights from New Hampshire
Rubio repeatedly tried to change the focus to President Obama, saying he the president is trying to fundamentally change America. “All this damage that he's done to America is deliberate,” Rubio said.
Rubio was not the only one taking flak.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who won the Iowa caucuses last week, apologized to neurosurgeon Ben Carson for his campaign suggesting that Carson had dropped out of the race. Carson was not assuaged, calling the episode “a very good example of certain types of Washington ethics,” where you do anything to win.
USA TODAY
Cruz apologizes to Carson over Iowa; Carson not impressed
Jeb Bush attacked Donald Trump’s use of using eminent domain — the government’s power to take private property — to kick an elderly woman out of her home for a casino project. Trump waved off the attack, saying the project never went through, and Bush just “wants to be a tough guy.”
Trump was booed by the audience, but he said that was simply because most of them were Bush donors.
USA TODAY
Donald Trump tries to explain why he's getting booed
Several candidates took “tough guy” stances on foreign policy. Trump said he would bring back waterboarding and interrogation tactics “a hell of a lot worse";<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Christie said he would pursue drug criminals across the Mexican border even without cooperation of the Mexican government; and Bush said he would consider a pre-emptive military strike against North Korea.
It was the smallest crowd of debaters the Republican Party has fielded this campaign season.
The last GOP debate, in Iowa on Jan 28, had four candidates in an early "happy hour" debate and seven on the main stage, as Trump boycotted, claiming that host Fox News was biased against him.
The field has thinned significantly since then, with Rand Paul, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee dropping out. Carly Fiorina and Jim Gilmore remain in the race but did not qualify for Saturday's debate.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Fiorina protested her exclusion, providing a steady stream of tweets saying she would be a better candidate to battle<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Hillary Clinton in the general election.
The debate got off to an odd and awkward start as Carson and Trump did not emerge from backstage when they were introduced and had to be called a second time by the moderators.
From left: Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Jeb Bush, Sen. Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, Ben Carson and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie participate in the Republican presidential debate Saturday, February 6, 2016, in Manchester, N.H.<span style="color: Red;">*</span> Joe Raedle, Getty Images
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